Guest Ollie Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Hi Premed81: What everyone is discussing here is the letter UT sends to med applicants who are current grad students or already have a graduate degree. Since you are an undergrad, none of this applies to you for your med admissions or grad admissions. So, no worries and good luck with your apps. And for the grad applicants: The letter doesn't say specifically that you need to submit a letter from your chair outlining your productivity. I remember reading somewhere that this was asked for in the past (it's possible that I may be confusing UT with Ottawa). Anyone know anything about this? Who are people using as their additional reference letters? My supervisor is already one of my references, as is one of my committee members. I don't think that my chair or other committee member can add much that isn't already said in the other letters, and they don't know me as well. Since these additional letters are supposed to be specifically about our graduate work, I'm not really sure what to do. Would I be at a disadvantage if I didn't submit any additional letters?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Hi there premed81, It sounds as though you are applying as a graduate student this year, correct? If so, then I believe that UofT automatically places you in the graduate pile of applications, and from there, you are assessed among the other graduate applicants. Although things are a little unknown as to how graduate applicants are assessed at UofT it does seem that graduate productivity, in addition to GPA, etc., is an important factor in the assessment of applicants. This is exhibited, according to UofT, based on the factors that they request from graduate applicants in the research productivity request letter. Ollie, as to letters of reference, I think any extra that you could garner (that are positive ) could only help your application. My three extra were from: 1) my Program Director 2) two professors, one of whom I've known for quite a few years and did two research projects with, and the other who was one of my graduate course professors. Cheers and good luck, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest premed81 Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Hi there again, Thank you for responses, it helped to clear things up for me and I'm glad that I'm doing the applications properly. However, I'm becoming a little concerned as to how competitive it is to get accepted into graduate programs. I'm applying to 4 programs, and I don't know, I'm getting worried that I may be rejected by all 4 if the competition is anything like medical school has been. My academic background is strong and diverse and my GPA is within the minimum requirements, and I'm doing research in a lab right now (as an undergrad)......Can you guys give me an idea of the competition? What would be the factor for which most people get rejected from a graduate program? Thanks and good to you all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ollie Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 It's hard to say what the competition is for graduate programs because they differ widely among schools and among programs at the same school. I assume you are going for a research-based master's. My experience at UBC is that to get accepted to the program, you only need to meet the GPA minimum. The biggest hurdle is getting a supervisor to take you on. Different profs will have different requirements. Some will want a higher GPA than minimum, some will want you to have a lot of previous research experience, some will want you to have your own funding. Some schools (SFU is one), require that you confirm your supervisor before you apply to the program. UBC will accept you, and then you must find a supervisor before you are officially registered. The factor that keeps most people out is probably not finding a supervisor. The best advice I can give is to look around at a lot of labs. Talk to the current grad students. Don't be afraid to ask them what it is like to work with their supervisor. Try to find a lab that you fit in well with. You will be spending a lot of time with these people!! Is the research directed by the students, or does the supervisor assign projects? How often do they publish? What is the funding situation? It may sound like you are asking a lot, but the last thing you want is to spend 2-3 years in a lab that you hate! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted December 31, 2003 Report Share Posted December 31, 2003 Hi there premed81, I agree with Ollie. The unofficial graduate program requirements are diverse. For example, entering some graduate programs requires more than the minimum stipulated GPA requirement. Our M.Sc. program asked for a B+ GPA, but any student who did not have an A- average was automatically rejected (based on the logic that they'd have a next to impossible shot at securing big grants such as OGSSTs, etc.). I'd also agree with Ollie that it only behooves you to secure a supervisor way ahead of time, i.e., acceptance. Even if you don't have one yet, keep your department updated on your progress for finding one. Not only does this demonstrate the initiative that graduate schools seek in their students, but it also makes your department's job a lot easier. Also, my biggest recommendation is that you try to find a supervisor with whom you can work most harmoniously, with respect to not only personality, but work ethic. Perhaps that sounds like a simple or gratuitous thing, but it's not. Request their previous students' names and ask around about their reputation, style and manner of work. I've seen far too many students who end up with upteen years of purgatory because they did not know to do this little bit of homework ahead of time. Luckily, a friend of mine offered me this wee bit of advice before I was accepted to my M.Sc. program and I'm happy to say that all my investigative phone calls, e-mails and chats paid off. From my short list of supervisors I picked a fantastic human being whose working style matches mine very well. I couldn't wish for more in a supervisor-student relationship. Best of luck, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Makunouchi Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 I find it interesting that this letter is sent to us late December. They would not have done some sort of screening process before sending these letters, do you think? And the description is a bit different than that contained in the OMSAS booklet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 Hi there, Supposedly, the letters are sent to all graduate applicants. However, as I learned not so long ago, apparently there, in fact, is a screening process for graduate applicants to the UofT. I'm not sure of the particulars, but I heard from a very reliable source that graduate applicants are screened out on academic grounds before their files reach the Graduate Admissions Committee. This was the first that I'd heard of this. Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mydream88 Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 Hi, Kirsteen your sleuth :smokin work is highly interesting! I wonder, what is this screening process? I have a feeling that it is just to check that minimum requirements are met. opinions? mydream88:hat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Adamanda Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 Just curious...Are there any grad applicants out there that did not receive the letter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 Hi there, I don't know too many more details as to how the graduate screening process works. It's the first that I'd heard of it, though. :rolleyes Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mydream88 Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 Hi guys, I just want to check if anyone managed to confirm with the admissions officer i.e. Leslie, if we were correct with the following decision about abstracts on the CV: 1) abstracts that were published in journals affiliated with a conference go under the "abstracts" heading 2) ALL other abstracts i.e. those accepted to conferences in which one may have done a poster presentation, or oral presentation, are considered a part of the "presentation" category Just making sure I don't have to call her to ask because I don't want to bombard the poor lady, I have asked enough questions over the years! Look forward to your replies, mydream88:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest blobbo123 Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 Does anyone know how many of the U of T applicants have a Ph.D. or Masters? If people with grad degrees are in a separate competition, how many places of the total number of seats are reserved for them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UTMed07 Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 Does anyone know how many of the U of T applicants have a Ph.D. or Masters? If people with grad degrees are in a separate competition, how many places of the total number of seats are reserved for them? There are about 450 grad applicants in a given year (see the FAQ). AFAIK no seats are reserved specifically for grad students. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Makunouchi Posted January 9, 2004 Report Share Posted January 9, 2004 Hi, I didn't ask Leslie when I gave her a shout on Tuesday... but that's exactly what I have in my CV - Published Abstracts separated from Presentations. Thanks for the hint Kirsteen. The reason I asked about the screening is because of this two-month delay before sending out the letter. Since they already have a description in the OMSAS booklet, I found it kind of odd that they require that much time to formulate some guidelines for extra info to submit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mydream88 Posted January 9, 2004 Report Share Posted January 9, 2004 Hi again everyone, I have another question: ASSUMING that the abstracts section on our CV is to be comprised solely of abstracts that were published in journals, what would you guys do about the following scenario: an abstract is accepted for an upcoming scientific meeting, FOLLOWING this meeting, it WILL be published in a journal... what do I do? include this under "pending" abstracts? I am aiming to look the least foolish as possible! thanks so much for your input, happy weekend, mydream88 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Makunouchi Posted January 10, 2004 Report Share Posted January 10, 2004 Hi mydream88, Maybe write it like you would a journal article that has not been published yet. i.e. leave it under Abstracts, and put (in press) at the end. If you have something official saying that it will be published so-and-so when-and-where then you can attach that. Have a good weekend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mydream88 Posted January 11, 2004 Report Share Posted January 11, 2004 Thank you Makunouchi, that is a great idea. mydream88:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ollie Posted January 13, 2004 Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 Hello all, How much detail are people putting in their extracurricular activites? Are you including hours per week, contact info, etc? My CV is going to wind up being 6+ pages with the level of detail I have now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mydream88 Posted January 15, 2004 Report Share Posted January 15, 2004 Hello you guys, I hope you are hanging in there regarding the graduate student submission due tomorrow :eek ! I have just spoken with Leslie Taylor in order to make the following point crystal clear: she has indicated to me that the committee only wishes to see copies of abstracts/the first page of paper for paper's that were accepted/submitted to publications. They do not wish to receive copies of abstracts that were accepted for publication following research presentations, etc. hope this is useful information to you, gooooooood luuuuuuuuuuuck everyone, mydream88:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted January 15, 2004 Report Share Posted January 15, 2004 Hi there, Mine is almost complete--what a bear! Thanks for sharing your information, but can I clarify something? Do they wish to see abstracts from presentations made at conferences, or abstracts that were published in journals? I'm not sure if this is what you were referring to in your post, above. When I last spoke to Leslie, she mentioned that they did wish to see it all, as long as it wasn't "fluff and padding". Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mydream88 Posted January 15, 2004 Report Share Posted January 15, 2004 Hi Kirsteen , You may want to double check with Leslie but from my conversation with her I explicitly asked: "what abstracts do we submit with the graduate school submission?" she answered: "only those pertaining to publications that have been published" (which I interpret as submitted/in press/published) please let me know if anyone clarifies this matter ASAP! mydream88 p.s. I have another question: for your CVs, in listing presentations, etc., have you just explicitly listed the title and where it was presented OR have you included your ROLE on the paper i.e. collected data, analyzed and authored? p.p.s I asked Leslie if for the 'in preparation' section of publications we could include such points as "on 7th draft, being submitted in the next two weeks to the Journal of yada yada yada", she stated that there would be no harm in including this information, however, that is not to say that it will be completely ignored by the admissions committee who may see ANYTHING in the 'in preparation' category as simply 'in preparation'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted January 15, 2004 Report Share Posted January 15, 2004 Hello again, In response to your first p.s.: I have used a standard CV format for my citations, which does not normally include a description of the author's role in that publication. The people on the Graduate Admissions Committee who will be reviewing the CVs, I'm assuming, will be pretty familiar with the activities associated with earning first author status in a major journal, third author, etc. Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mydream88 Posted January 15, 2004 Report Share Posted January 15, 2004 that makes sense to me, it is nice to see that someone is maintaining their logic and not off their rocker yet about this like myself I have yet another question: do you think the following order for listings in the CV is ideal: abstracts, presentations, publications? I am slowly going crazy....:eek :b :smokin mydream88 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted January 15, 2004 Report Share Posted January 15, 2004 Hi there, I don't think there is any set or "ideal" format to a CV in terms of where to put abstracts, publications, etc., as long as it actually contains all the good stuff that a CV is supposed to contain. (But I'm sure UofT will feel that the format you've mentioned above, is fine.) Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ollie Posted January 15, 2004 Report Share Posted January 15, 2004 Hi, I'm a little annoyed at the ambiguity of the instructions for this submission. The letter states to submit the first page and abstract of published articles. I interpreted this as exactly that, published, ie that you have a reprint of. It says for in press or submitted, to send a copy of the letter from the journal stating its status. So for my in press and submitted papers I just sent on the letter, and not copies of the abstract etc. It's too late for me to add anything as the package was express posted away on Tuesday. Oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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